Colour — there aren’t many design choices that are quite as important, particularly if you’re cladding your home!

From the ever-popular and versatile to the daring and unusual, let's walk through the most stylish, modern options.

When it comes to cladding, we think solid timber always looks best, but these colours are also available in composite or PVC.

1. Reddish brown — warm, modern and versatile

One of the most perennially-popular choices for house cladding is Western Red Cedar.

This timber species of wood offers an alluring mix of warm reds, browns and salmon pinks that add character and natural beauty to almost any house. These shades can complement your home’s exterior brickwork, or provide a nice contrast.

Vertical orientation is the choice for a particularly contemporary look, but horizontal is no less stylish.

Modern patio on a gray deck with wicker dining set; large glass sliding doors open to a bright living area with a plant indoors.

Modern two-story home with white exterior and horizontal reddish-brown wooden cladding, large sliding glass doors and windows, and a gravel path.

Modern, single-story house with white walls and vertical wooden cladding; gravel driveway, bench, potted plants, and a small lawn.

Two-story building with horizontal wooden planks in varying brown tones, a black downspout along the corner, and small windows under a blue sky.

Cozy outdoor patio with wicker seating including an egg chair, hanging wicker lamps, a round black coffee table, potted plants, and a black-and-white chevron rug.

Modern wooden garden room with vertical timber cladding, black-framed glass doors and windows, a flat dark roof, and a small concrete patio on a green lawn.

2. Grey — contemporary and Scandi-inspired

Fresh and understated, grey cladding is a hot trend amongst design-led DIYers and architects. Uncomplicated and simple with a nod to everything Nordic, grey creates a modern space that’s ‘at one with nature’ and shuns anything artificial. It’s a versatile neutral backdrop.

Whilst you can achieve the grey look by allowing a quality timber to weather naturally, modern factory treatments ensure a high-performance product that has a uniform, professional finish.

One particularly popular wood protection system for achieving the grey look is S:iOOX, a patented wood modification system. It makes use of silicone nanotechnology to penetrate the wood, transforming its colour and bolstering its exterior durability. With S:iOOX, you can choose between light, medium and darker options.

Modern two-story home with a stone base and light wood siding, large windows, and a curved driveway, set among a green lawn and shrubs under a blue sky.

Two-story house with a stone base and gray wooden upper siding, a sloped roof, black-framed windows, and a gravel yard with shrubs and a small tree. — Factory treatments, like S:iOOX, can deliver a stunning, high-performance solution.

Modern gray wooden house with a sloped roof and skylight. Vertical siding on the right, a tall narrow window, and a slatted entry with potted plants.

Modern gray building with vertical wooden siding, a sloped metal roof, skylight, and a tall black vent pipe; curved gravel garden with small evergreens along the path.

Wood-clad house with a sloped roof and skylights, glass sliding doors, and a beige outdoor sofa set with a rectangular table on a wooden deck. — Going grey naturally: quality species like Siberian Larch will silver off over time and look fantastic.

Side view of a wooden building with vertical planks, gutter and downspout, two windows and a glass door, a paved path and a shed; a car nearby.

Modern single-story extension with gray vertical siding and large glass sliding doors, a tiled patio, trimmed hedges, green lawn, and climbing roses on the wall.

3. Black — bold and urban

Black cladding is another on-trend urban design favourite, particularly for making a statement.

This look can be achieved through ‘Yakisugi’. Translating literally as ‘burned cedar’, this is a centuries-old Japanese method of wood preservation which involves charring the surface of the wood. The modern version of this would be Chartex® which involves taking a cladding board, structuring the grain with a wire brush to create texture, then applying a factory coated coal black wood stain.

It creates an undeniably arresting and eye-catching structure but with a more robust hard wearing finish that doesn’t flake!

Black cladding doesn’t have to dominate, either — consider using it as a flourish. When used sparingly, it can be surprisingly versatile. Bonus points for matching windows!

Modern house with a black slanted roof, timber columns, and glass walls; covered patio with wicker seating, potted plants, and a green lawn.

Modern dark wood-clad building with tall vertical panels, two large glass doors, and a flat gray deck, set beside evergreen trees under a blue sky.

Modern two-story home with dark vertical siding atop a white base, a gray front door, several windows, under a blue sky with distant hills.

Modern house exterior with dark vertical siding, large glass doors and windows, a light brick base, white side wall, and a glass-railed balcony. — Our coated Teknoclad cladding in 'Stone Grey'

Two dark wooden houses with red-tiled roofs frame a paved driveway; a brick carport on the left, a wooden fence in the back, and a doorway with a small awning.

Dark wooden house with a steep sloped roof, two skylights, and large glass doors reflecting a grassy landscape.

4. Light and golden — natural beauty in abundance

Another time-honoured favourite for house cladding is Siberian Larch. With characterful, versatile golden browns and yellows, it showcases natural timber at its best.

These golden tones work well in contemporary settings but with a spattering of knots and rich grain also can rest into a rural environment. Again, opt for a vertical profile for a more modern feel.

Row of modern semi-detached homes with white lower walls and wood-clad upper facades, gray roofs with solar panels; fenced front gardens.

Wood-clad single-storey rear extension with large glass sliding doors, attached to a brick house, on a concrete patio with a bare yard. — Untreated timber cladding in Siberian Larch (grade A).

Modern wooden garden room with vertical slats, black-framed glass doors, a wall light, and potted plants beside a gravel path and green lawn.

Wooden house with a steep pitched roof and skylights, a patio with chairs and a table, and a green lawn under a blue sky.

Two-story wooden house with orange-brown siding and a pitched roof, three windows, set against a clear blue sky; an overhead wire runs across the scene.

5. Medium brown — exotic and intriguing

For a slightly more tropical look, a darker brown theme can be achieved with thermally-treated timber cladding products like Thermo-Nordic Pine, Thermo-Tulipwood and Thermo-Ayous.

The modification process during their manufacture not only makes the wood more durable for exterior use, but imparts a versatile medium-brown colour. This mimics the look of tropical hardwoods (without any of the associated expense or environmental damage!).

Again, it’s easier to match these types of colours to your bricks, making for a seamless, stylish addition to your home’s exterior that won’t be too jarring.

Modern two-story wooden house with pitched roofs, expansive glass walls and balcony, warm interior lighting, and a green lawn at dusk.

Modern two-story home with stone ground floor, wood upper level, blue-trim gable roof, glass balcony, and tall wooden garage door; gravel driveway.

Modern wooden house with vertical siding, brick foundation, and large black-framed windows and doors; sits on a grassy yard under a blue sky.

Two-story wooden house with vertical siding sits among trees; a raised front deck, a centered door, and a large upper-right window, with dappled branch shadows.

Modern wood-and-stone residence with a stone foundation, expansive glass doors, and a curved gravel path through a landscaped garden framed by trees at dusk.

Modern wooden house with stone base, curved brick driveway, landscaped garden in foreground, overlooking a lake with hills under cloudy sky.

Single-story building with vertical wooden siding in warm brown, black-framed windows, exterior lights, a small ramp, and a paved parking area in front under a gabled roof. — Thermo-Ayous timber cladding, pre-finished in Colourflex® Natural.

A modern wooden building under construction with large glass panels and a steep roof; dirt and gravel around the foundation, with trees in the background. — Thermo-Pine AB grade cladding.

Modern exterior with vertical warm-brown wooden slats, black trim, and wall-mounted lanterns along a row of windows; green trees in the background. — Thermo-Ayous cladding in contrasting natural and coal black stains

Curved wooden garden room with black-framed glass doors on a curved patio, fenced yard, green lawn and tall trees behind.

Tan vertical wooden siding on a modern building, with a gray-framed window on the left and an open doorway on the right, a stone path and small garden beyond.

6. Blue — cool as you like

Cool blue is certainly on trend — and it's not hard to understand why when you look at this bespoke Ayous cladding project in RAL 5014.

Blue two-story house with a large wooden-framed glass conservatory along the ground floor, brick foundation, and a bright green lawn with leafless trees.

Blue two-story wooden house extension with large glass doors framed in natural wood, brick base, green lawn, cloudy sky.

In fact, any colour is possible. Pale blue, terracotta red or an olive green shade might be the statement you’re after! Check out our Colourflex® range for some stylish options to set you apart on your project.

Just be sure to check with your local authority — choosing something that’s too out of keeping with the rest of the area could land you in hot water.

Two white-framed windows with black trim on a green wooden wall, featuring dentil molding under the eaves and a dark shingled roof above.

Close-up of pale gray horizontal wooden siding with visible grain; blurred greenery and bokeh lights in the background.

Chosen a cladding colour for your next project?

We offer a wide range of quality timber cladding. All of our wood is imported from sustainable sources and machined to profile by us, on site in North Yorkshire.

As well as offering untreated timber — great for showcasing timber at its resplendent natural best — we also offer professional factory finishing on all our cladding products. This allows us to produce any colour or finish that takes your fancy!

Get in touch today